The more I listened to the Vali 3, especially on a very revealing headphones like the HEDD Audio HEDDphone TWO, the more that “hybrid” thing made more and more sense. This also rang a bell because of other reason. And here comes another part of the whole “tube sound” digression. This is because in my speaker system I use a single-ended hybrid amplifier where tube do the whole voltage gain and driver thing and the solid-state part is actually only responsible for providing the current amplification. That speaker amp doesn’t actually sound tube at all, because it has both the ability to convey the subtle timbre changes and is very fast and resolving at the same time. It just goes into the direction where the sound has not that very much to do with your typical push-pull tube sound that many may be accustomed to after listening to amps based on, for example, EL34 or similar power tubes (tetrodes in the case of EL34 to be precise). I mention this on purpose, because the overall sound temperature in the case of Vali 3 is not as warm as many may expect. In the absolute terms it obviously goes into that lush side of things, yet the sonics here are rather on the clear side. And I mean not keeping in mind the price of the amp, but rather considering where things stand in general terms.
I did start my listening sessions with a repertoire that may be considered as going directly into the deep audiophile waters. And on “One” by Aimee Mann (opening track from the Magnolia movie) it provided almost ethereal, see-through images on my HEDDphone TWO. While the timbre was indeed saturated, it was also not too thick, it rendered the Mann’s voice with realism and clarity bell above its price point. Then there was something other that needs to be mentioned. And that was the lack of that transistor grain that is so very often prevalent in many affordable electronics. This is where you can actually hear that it has that tube by actually not hearing any artefacts that the poorly done solid-state gain state might leave. On “This Love” by Craig Armstrong and Elisabeth Fraser the sound was warm and lush, but it was more the track than the amp itself. While the Vali 3 provided here the sense of coherence and having a balance between the filling of the soundstage while still providing the insight on what’s going on in the recording. What as also quite noticebable on that particular track was this small amp’s prowess regarding the lowest frequency reproduction. I confirmed this on Pernille Rosendahl “Feet On The Ground” track. It rendered the bass there without any unnecessary softening. What as also really noticeable was that the depth of the soundstage and the Vali’s 3 ability to convey subtle spatial cues.
It just doesn’t throw it all into your face at once, but all the small sounds are there, yet they are more woven into the fabric of the entire presentation rather than thrown out in an uncoordinated manner. And let me go back to that whole “tube timbre” once again. I deeply believe that they used the tube in this amp in the exact place and the way they should. I mean the voltage amplification stage. This is because the overall sound somehow reminds me, has some common traits with my big speaker amp. It’s that overall coherence of its sound and the balance between providing the musicality while still being good in all the objective aspects of the reproduction.